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This is a guest post from Smart Icicle sharing her My Place in Poptropica story, which is all about one’s Poptropica journey. Enjoy!

A very long time ago | Discovery of Poptropica

I found Poptropica when I somewhere around 9-11 years old. Me and my sister were looking at ads on our games, playing on one Windows 7 computer. We decided to play together on first ever account: 1420951818 aka Bronze Socks. A few years later, me and my sister parted ways on Poptropica.

Design Concept: We sense a theme emerging.

The rise of Smart Icicle

I decided to create a new account on Poptropica since we now had two computers. My new account became Target1051 aka Smart Icicle. I played lots of islands back then (when the common rooms, Multiverse, and all the islands were still there). I liked Poptropica so much, I created lots of accounts back then. Meanwhile, my sister would also make accounts every now and then. The only account I remember from all of the other accounts were Popular Flyer.

I remember finding the PHB by searching up island walkthroughs for Poptropica. Soon, I became a pro at one of the Poptropica islands: 24 Carrot Island. After mastering that, I went on to play Skullduggery, Astro-Knights, and Counterfeit… but sadly I could not pass them, since I kept dying to Mother Phoenix, couldn’t stop Black Widow, and it took a long time to beat Captain Crawfish. Soon, I found something else (or rather, someone) I enjoyed…

Video walkthroughs

So, who is this someone I mentioned? I started watching video walkthroughs for the islands where it was a little bit confusing. Can you guess whose? Thinknoodles!

My favorite video playlist is his “Road to Captain Thinknoodles,” where Thinknoodles plays the islands for the first time. I also began watching his other videos, where he plays Roblox, Minecraft, etc. Back then, I couldn’t access Roblox since I had a Chromebook. Videos from others, like Danton, also inspired me to play Roblox and watch more videos. As you can see, I’m getting away from Poptropica…

Taking a break

Ater playing through the islands, I found myself bored. So I decided to take a break from Poptropica. I decided that when something new came out on Poptropica, I would start playing it again. In the meantime, I did other things, like watch my favorite movies and TV shows.

One day I returned to the PHB and found something heartbreaking there…

The end of Flash and return of Smart Icicle

The PHB had announced that Flash would be gone by the end of 2020, and when I saw that, I was downright upset. I had liked the islands, but realized ever since Haxe started in early 2020, I couldn’t play them.

Then I saw the announcement from the Creators’ Blog that there was going to be a Create Your Dream Island Contest. That got my attention, so I got out my notebook and pencil. I got to work thinking of ideas (which was hard because of the copyright rules!) and finally came up with one: Cherry Fall Island. I got the idea from my latest travels to China in June, plus I added a plot twist in it as well. The story is set in ancient China and I put in an empress, a monk (who helps out the player), and some shopkeepers. Although I didn’t win, I felt happy after seeing the winners of the contest and congratulated them in the comments.

Earlier this year, I saw the news about a new Home Island. Since this was a new update, I decided I’d officially return to Poptropica.

Haxe and searching for a membership

Haxe (the post-Flash Poptropica platform of the current game) was new to me, and I found out it was very different from when I last played. My favorite part about it all was the new Home Island: I just gazed in awe after seeing it for the first time.

I learned that you couldn’t do much since most of the old islands were gone and a lot of extra stuff was for members only. So I started looking for ways to get a membership, and found out about the PHB’s monthly giveaways, which I immediately signed up for. I hope I get a membership one day, since I can’t buy one.

I also hope Poptropica changes more soon, like with Poptropica Worlds. In the meantime, I started my own site: Smart Icicle’s Blog. Check it out! I would like to thank the few readers who’ve already visited, and the PHB staff for helping me promote it.

Night Watch: It’s no small decision to take the black.

Well, that’s about it. What did you think of my story of Poptropica? Do you wish to see my upcoming clubhouse? Can’t wait to share more on the PHB. Anyway, see you soon!

~Smart Icicle 📚❄️

Hope you enjoyed this “My Place in Poptropica” story! If you did, you’ll probably enjoy our other MPIP stories here on the PHB.

If you haven’t already shared your story, we invite you to send in your own. Interested in writing for the PHB under a different Pop-topic? Take a look at our Write for the PHB page for ideas, guidelines, and more! 📰✨

~the Poptropica Help Blog

Clubhouse, Guest Posts

Castle Clubhouse Tour: Invisible Ring 🏰

April 12, 2021April 12, 2021 LJ

Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by Invisible Ring. Enjoy!

I’m back, baby! It’s me, Invisible Ring! I hope you enjoyed my last clubhouse tour because I’m picking up right where I left off. Now… I’ve pulled the lever and switched my rooms. Next stop: room number 2, my clubhouse castle!

Welcome to my castle, everyone! Hey wait a second — where did you phoenixes come from? Did you fly through a window or something? You need to leave; you’ll scare the guests away!

Another perfect landing, ladies… that intergalactic E. Vile fight was tough, wasn’t it? Wow, this is quite the castle! Hey, what’s that noise? I think it’s coming from up above!

Come on, phoenix, out the window! Don’t even think about stealing any of this treasure. That’s right, I see that smoke bomb in your hand. Go on, shoo!

Uh-oh… we’re not alone. Looks like there are other people upstairs! We can’t let ‘em see us; they’ll think we’re aliens — especially me since I’m wearing a Pewter Moon uniform. I say we all get back into our ship and retreat right now before we’re accused of trespassing or something.

What was that, a rocket engine? There must be someone else down there!

Hmmm… I guess it’s nothing. Whoever they were, they’re gone now. Argh, I knew those fire-birds would scare someone away. Oh well… for all of you that are still with me, here’s what the rest of my castle looks like.

This is the royal library that I’ve worked hard to make look beautiful for this castle. Now with that being said, I’m tired and feel like kicking back and reading a book for a minute. Wow, I never read any books on demons before! It’s really ominous, but also very interesting. No wonder these books are considered hot reads.

Yikes, it’s a demon! Did I summon you by mistake? I shouldn’t have opened this book… how do I put you back?

Wait, you’re not a demon. You’re just a tourist in a really convincing costume, aren’t you? Ha-ha, whoops… I should definitely put this book down and continue the tour.

This is where I sleep. Yeah, you heard right. You might be wondering why I would want to sleep on the chandelier. Well, why wouldn’t I? This is way more exciting than a bunk bed! I think it’s a smart place as well. If someone tries to break into the house, I can jump off and drop all the way down to the door right on top of the intruder. No surprises while I’m up here! Isn’t that right, angel tourist? Wait… Angel tourist? How long has she been standing right behind me?

Huh, where’d she go? She was standing right there. I’m sure of it! Was she a real angel or what? So much for “no surprises while I’m up here.“

Moving on! This is my observatory — my study hall away from the one l have in my room. There aren’t any laptops in here, but I have everything I need to get all of my non-digital work done.

Finally, my relaxation corner! Unlike the one in my room, this one has fancy treats and fancy seats. I guess this is what we call a first-class relaxation corner.

And if I need a break from the screen, I like to look out the window up top with my spyglass. Between the day and the night, I get countless brilliant views!

Oh no, that’s not a brilliant view. It’s an invasion! Somebody’s trying to attack this castle! What am I going to do? Wait, what am I saying? This is my castle and I need to defend it! I need to show the invader who’s in charge of this palace.

Good thing I keep extra swords up on my top floor! Time to suit up and arm myself for battle!

Now, where’s that invader? Maybe he wants to break into this treasury like those phoenixes! Good thing I just locked my loot up in this trojan horse.

Oh no, he flew past the window! Now he’s going down to the front door! I gotta get down there quick!

Any moment now, the invader is gonna come right through that door. I have a bad feeling about this. Maybe I should grab a second sword from this wall to even the odds.

I hear footsteps… He’s here! Who are you and what do you want with me? Show yourself! I have a sword and I know how to use it.

“Hey, what is this place? This isn’t Poptropi-con. Darn, I must have flown right past it. Better get outta here and try again.”

Whew, he’s not an invader after all; he just took a wrong turn. Did he say something about a con? That explains why he looked like an invader. I’m glad that’s over.

Wow! Even for a palace, that was a royally eventful tour. Now that it’s over with, I’m gonna hit the hammock now.

What’s that? You want me to pull that room-switching lever again? No thanks, I had enough for one day. After all, I am the princess of this castle — my rules, my castle, my Princess Amethyst costume!

It’s now time to go as visiting hours for this palace are over. Thanks for popping into my castle, and thank you to all of the poptropicans I met inside (whether or not you were caught on screen). You made this a royal adventure the whole way through.

That makes the first half of my clubhouse tour complete. If you enjoyed the trip so far, then stay tuned for part 3. See you later!

Hope you enjoyed this guest post by Invisible Ring. If you did, you might also enjoy other clubhouse tours we’ve featured. Consider sharing yours, too!

The Poptropica Help Blog welcomes interesting Poptropica insights from anyone in the Poptropica community with thoughts to share. Interested in writing for the PHB? We’d love to hear from you! 📰✨

Uncategorized

Mood boards bring a POP of color 💫

April 12, 2021April 11, 2021 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! A new creative trend has swept the Poptropica community, and we’re here to share some of it with you. Unveiling: Poptropica character mood boards! 🤩

Mood boards are a collection of images and color schemes that relate to a particular subject (in this case, Poptropica characters). They’re common in the world of design, and the Poptropica fandom’s been getting in on them too. Check out these collages inspired by NPCs (non-player characters), from people of the PHC:

In addition to NPCs, OCs (original characters, perhaps your own player Poptropican) are also a popular subject. Check out these OC mood boards from various Poptropicans, where the pic pile might inspire your character’s next wardrobe and vice versa!

Like a visual version of the Popsona, or Poptropica persona, where one creates a story for their Pop character, these collections sure have a lot of personality! Now, what story does your character tell?

Thanks to all the above artists for sharing their mood boards with us! You can find them on our Discord server, the PHC, particularly on our #pop-art channel. Plus, feel free to share your own creations there too, and/or in the comments of this post. We hope you enjoyed this aesthetic feast and maybe feel inspired to make your own too. 💫

Keep on popping, Poptropicans! ✨

Surveys

2021 PHB Readers’ Survey Results 📱📊

April 11, 2021April 11, 2021 LJ

Howdy Poptropicans! It’s LJ here to bring you the awaited 2021 PHB Readers’ Survey results and analysis.

Last month, I announced our annual survey where we ask a selection of questions related to you and your experiences with Poptropica and the PHB in order to get to know you better. Over the duration of three weeks we amassed a total of 115 responses! Here’s what we came up with…

Which of our past surveys did you participate in?

To start, we like to ask which of our past surveys you’ve partaken in. As usual, the percentage gets smaller as you go back through the years — however, 2014 has increased from last year (perhaps there are more people revisiting). On the flip side, a big portion of you said this was your very first time participating: the biggest percentage of new readers yet. Welcome!

*(Note that the percentage total goes above 100% due to the ability to select more than one answer.)*

What is your gender?

Gender-wise, females dominate our viewer base with almost double the amount of males. The gap is a little smaller though. Females make up 62% and males make up 30%. Our viewers that identify as something other than male or female is about the same with just over 7%.

What is your age?

15-18 year-olds remain the largest group at 30% and the 22 or older group remains the smallest with a mere 5%. For the first time ever, the 6-11 year-olds have surpassed the 12-14 year-olds and the 19-21 group has dropped from second to fourth as compared to 2020.

What country do you live in?

The United States continues to be the nation where most of our readers live by a wide margin, followed by Canada, India, Great Britain, and Australia, in that order. Although the numbers may be small, it’s cool to see that we reach people from all around the globe — especially in Europe and Asia! Maybe we’ll see African and South American countries again next time.

If you live in the US, which state or territory do you live in?

For those of you who are in the US (which includes about 67% of you), we asked which state you lived in for a more thorough idea of where you guys are located. California takes the number one spot with 11 survey responders residing there, which makes sense considering the golden state has the highest population in the country. In a surprising twist, though, North Carolina comes in second with 7 people beating out Georgia, which has 6, as well as Florida and New York which each have 5. Texas is also home to 5 PHB readers who took the survey.

When did you discover Poptropica?

Next, we have the Poptropica/PHB-related questions. First we asked when you discovered Poptropica. 2020 was surprisingly the #1 answer with a whopping 16%! (Maybe the pandemic had something to do with that?) 2012 comes next at about 10% with 2008, 2011, and 2019 not too far behind at nearly 9%. It’s also worth noting that one of our survey takers discovered the game only this year in 2021. I totally didn’t expect these results at all, but I’m happy there are a lot of new players!

How often do you play Poptropica?

So we know when you guys discovered Poptropica, but how often do you play it? It looks like most of you are playing either a few times a day or a few times a week — two of the more frequent options — which is more often than any other year of respondents. Overall, though, all of the sections are pretty equal.

Are you a member on Poptropica?

As for membership, the sections are not so equal. Over 84% of Poptropicans currently do not have membership. About 25% of those non-members used to be members whereas about 20% plan to become one sometime in the future. The biggest percentage (38%), however, goes to those who answered “never have and never will”. The remaining 16% are paying members.

When did you first find the PHB?

Now, we asked about when you found the PHB. These results also shocked me. More of you found the PHB in the last 4 years (2018-2021) than the 10 years (2008-2017) prior, and by a lot too! 2020 stands at first with almost 24% alone and 2021 stands at second with 15%. It’s great to have all of you new readers join us! Most of the lowest percentages belong to 2008, 2009, and 2010 respectively.

How did you find us?

As usual, a large majority of you found us through searching the web, presumably searching for island guides. Although all of the other options are miniscule in comparison, I think it’s still interesting to see that we’ve caught people’s attention in various different ways. At an increase from previous years, 14% found us through another website which could be attributed to the Poptropica creators featuring some of our posts on the Creators’ Blog.

How often do you visit the PHB?

When it comes to how often you guys visit the PHB, the three most regular choices are the ones with the highest amount of answers and that makes me quite happy. 😊 “A few times a week” garnered 30% of the answers, “a few times a day” got 27%, “once a day” got 20%, and after that it’s pretty much chronological.

What types of PHB posts do you enjoy?

Poptropica news remains to be our most popular post category with over three quarters of readers saying they enjoy those kinds of posts. Next, with 55%, would be Spotted Dragon’s Community Creations series, with contests very close behind at 54%. Pop 5 lists, Reviews, and Maryann’s The Villain Saga (a new and ongoing fan fiction) are also very favored.

Besides the PHB, what portions of the Poptropica Help Network (PHN) do you regularly browse?

A fewer number of participants answered the question about our Poptropica Help Network facets, but still a good amount nonetheless. The Poptropica Wiki continues to be the most visited, though its current connection to the PHN is ambiguous since our partnership was first formed when the wiki was hosted on Wikia (now known as Fandom, where the current Pop Wiki is hosted). The PHC comes second, and the We-Love-Poptropica DeviantArt group afterward.

Anything else you’d like to add?

Your feedback is of the greatest importance to us, and what better way to get that through the long answer text box? Here are a few of the comments we received, and our responses:

I love to have competitions and psst!!…it’s me DD or Dangerous Dragon!

A good amount of you said something similar, and that’s evident based off the 54% on the chart about which PHB posts you enjoyed. Since posting the survey, we’ve had a fun Guess That Poptropican contest (answers here), and another one is on its way! We also have other contests planned for the near future. Stay tuned!

I’d like to see more stuff on hidden facts about islands that we don’t realize. like how Survival was based on The Most Dangerous Game, or how Pelican Rock was based off Alcatraz island. That would be really interesting 😀

We love references like these! We’ve covered the similarities between Escape from Pelican Rock and Alcatraz Island as part of our Pop Places IRL series, as well as written about The Most Dangerous Game and Survival Island. Plus, each of our Island Guides comes with a trivia section for more fun facts. You might wanna check them out!

Can you tell me how to access the other episodes of Poptropicon, Survival, etc. (besides just the first one) on Poptropica.com? I have looked and I just don’t see a way and when I browse the internet about it nothing comes up. But I know they exist, soooo, yeah.

You can play the other episodes of all episodic islands on the Poptropica mobile app! But if you want to play them on your computer, you’ll need to use the unofficial Flashpoint version of Poptropica, accessible through idk’s Old Island Directory which we link to on the PHB’s Glitching page. Right now, it’s only available for Windows, but support for Mac and Linux may happen in the future.

When will there be another island added to Poptropica’s website?

Just to clarify, we are not an official Poptropica site — just devoted players like yourself. However, we do have some details. Though we don’t have an exact date to look forward to, the first winner of Poptropica’s Dream Island contest, Fairy Tale Island, is set to release before this summer (if the creators keep their word this time). We even have sneak peeks!

I would like to see some more parties and contests on the PHB.

Not only do we have more contests coming soon, but we also have a few exciting parties lined up. Get ready to party it up over the next few months! It’s going to be a blast. 🎉